Local Fanny Slater wins 'Rachael Ray Show' Cookbook Challenge

Fanny Slater endured a month's worth of culinary obstacles and beat out four other finalists to win a publishing deal.

By Paul StephenPaul.Stephen@StarNewsOnline.com

Fanny Slater followed her star-studded dreams to Hollywood, but it was a move back to Wilmington that provided her an opportunity to realize those ambitions.

Slater won “The Rachael Ray Show's” Great America Cookbook Challenge on Monday, enduring a month's worth of culinary obstacles and beating out four other finalists to win a publishing deal with Ray's imprint. “I always thought I was going to be an actress. There's a huge part of me that feels like making people laugh and inspiring them is the reason I'm here,” Slater said last week from her Wilmington home. “It just took me a while to realize it was going to be through food.”The contest pitted aspiring cookbook authors in weekly battles as they showcased their hypothetical books. Slater, who works locally as a caterer and personal chef, has a working title of “Tastes Like Childhood,” a grown-up retooling of the beloved recipes she was raised on.“I feel like my food is approachable but sophisticated,” Slater said of her cooking style. “There's always going to be a gourmet touch to it, but I wouldn't want to make something people wouldn't make themselves at home.”Slater and four other contestants filmed the bulk of the episodes several weeks ago, but she only recently flew back to New York for the final challenge. With the final round broadcast Monday, keeping the outcome quiet for so long has been tough. “Everyone has been constantly trying to trick me,” she said of friends and family trying to pry the results out of her. The Fanny Slater we've seen on TV – bright eyed, comic and gifted with the ability to spin an incredible amount of useful information into an autobiographical narrative – is the same Fanny Slater cooking in her North Fourth Street apartment every day. Performance comes naturally to the 28-year-old, who some in the area have come to recognize from the humorous and personal recipes and stories she pens as a contributor to Focus on the Coast Magazine. “My parents encouraged the weirdness in me. I feel like that was really helpful,” Slater said. “That's the biggest advantage I think I've had over the competition. That happens to be a positive side of my personality.”A longtime Rachael Ray fan, Slater said the celebrity “is the one person that represents the home cook to me and my generation.”Despite her excitement at just being there, Slater said keeping cool around household names like Ray, chefs Jacques Pépin and Richard Blais and “Shark Tank” judge Lori Greiner was paramount. “If you're someone that wants to be in this world, as much as you admire them, you can't act star struck,” Slater said. “I've always told myself that these are just humans who get out of bed in the morning and trip over the cat.”The final challenge found celebrity chefs preparing meals for their families based on the contestants' recipes. Slater's Tin Foil Surprises, a tidy packaged meal she's updated from a version her father prepared for her as a child, proved to be the winning recipe. “I love it when things come full circle,” Slater said. “When I told myself that my entire future relied on an English muffin breakfast sandwich, I knew this was the beginning of a beautiful career.”Moving forward, Slater will soon find her kitchen overhauled with a set of appliances and Rachael Ray-branded cookware, one of the contest's prizes. And she's excited about settling into the production of her first cookbook. But she's confident her time in front of a camera isn't quite up, noting that the contest was partially a screening exercise to begin grooming future potential food personalities. And, as much as she adores Wilmington, she's ready to take the next step. “I don't know where this is going to take me,” Slater said. “But I will follow this dream wherever it goes.”

Paul Stephen: 343-2041On Twitter: @pauljstephen

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